Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-10-07
Meat From a 1900 lbs. Steer.
Prairie Farmer

with beef cattle after they reach Chi
cago markets, how sold, etc. The
cost of sending cattle varies with the
locality aud distance, and each read
er can learn that at his own shipping
point. His net receipts will be what
is left after paying freight, yardage
and commission, The price varies
greatly with the quality. We pro-
pose in this talk tO'-coniine the fig
ures to one particular grade; to fol-
low them through all varieties would
be an endless job, as the prices run
all the way from ~ per 100 lbs live
weight tor "grass-fed Texans" of 600
or 700 lbs, TO So per 100 lbs for Tex
ira beeves," and $50 TO $40 for
few premium cattle" Medium
good steers are now selling at about
81 per 100 lbs live weight.
We take 1900 lbs steer as an ex-
ample, for which the buyer pays A
cents per pound, or $52. A fairly fat
tened animal of this grade will yield
about per cent of tallow (52 lbs)
and per cent of hide (65 lbs). The
dressed carcass ranges from 50 to SO
per cent, according to the condition,
say an average of 81 per cent, or 81
lbs of dressed carcass to each 100 lbs
of live weight. This gives dressed
carcass weighing TAI lbs from the
live weight of 1900 lbs. The so lbs
of rough tallow at 8 cents, equals
50 60. The 65 lbs OF hide at 8 cent?,
equals $500. The head, tongue and
feet will bring 60 to 80 cents, say 70
cents; or for hide, tallow, ETC., $500.
Suppose the butcher takes this
amount for killing, dressing, taking
care of and selling the carcass, and
his profits. The cascass would cost
the retailing butcher SAL, or 515 cents
per lb.
KINDS AND AMOUNTS OF MEATS
Hardly two butchers would cut up a
carcass in exactly the same way, but
an average from several Chicago
butchers gives about the following
percentages for the divisions of the
carcass: Porter House steak, AZ pei
cent; Sirloin steak, Is per cent
Round steak, % per cent; Chuck
steak, Is per cent; Rib Roast, 101a
per cent; coarse meat, various, %
per cent. Apply these figures to the
TAI lbs of dressed carcass from the
300 lbs steer, and taking present av-
erage charges of retail butchers, we
have, emitting fractions:
lbs.
g pier H'se SIX. ~ per c)@lsc per lb s 5 o.
III Sirloin STEAK us per cl "a Bc per lb. II Il
40 Round stk (2s per o. a Eye per lb... 81 q
Is Rio Roast tlO1S per @ "a l4c per ID -. 10 ..
l3s Chuck Steak lis per o. "a &c per b.. II "
w Rough Meat, averaging Sc per b.. ~ "
% % per G. shrinkage and loss .......... u
Tn IS Is
Cost OF carcass as above ...............4 Al o.
R'tn b'her's remunerAt'n and profit. ssI 4s
If the retail butcher does his own
killing, he receives whatever addi-
tional profit there is in the SO allowed
for this work. The prices of meat
are those paid by the average con-
sumers in Chicago. In Suburban
towns, where there is much compe.
tition, the porter house steak is sold
the same as the sirloin, at l6 cents
Meat is sold too high to the consumer
who now pays almost as much az
when the producer was getting So to
SIS per head more than now for his
cattle. The retail butchers have a
very dim vision when the papers re-
port decline in cattle markets but
IL is rule that does not work both
ways.
In response to our protest against
the high rates, some butchers claim
that their rent, ice, delivery wagons
and men, loss in trimming, in meat
spoiled on their hands, in bad ac-
counts, ETC., leave them a very small
margin. How then did they live
when paying S. to SIS more per car
cass2 The losses are but rifling.
Most of them weigh the steaks before
trimming off corners, extra tallow
and bone, and even utilize some of
this waste. Meat in danger of spoil
ing goes into the "corner" tub
Readers who depend upon the butch
er, can with the above figures as a
general guide, demand fair rate on
what they purchase.-Farmers can
learn from them the advantage of
doing their own killing. A few
nsighbors uniting in taking q car
cass killed in turn by one of their
own number, can effect material
saving.